Nothing gives me a greater delight than an occasional visit to the national museum. A visit to the museum is an education in itself. When I have leisure, I make a pint of visiting it, for here one can never get bored.
What a delightful time I had last Sunday! What a world-the old and the new-opened out before me! I seemed to wander in the distant past, without at the same time losing touch with the present.
First, I was attracted by old Buddhist statues in different poses. The Buddha in meditation –so was one statue called – charmed me beyond measure. A kind of divine light seemed to float round the head of the holy saint. I saw some of the finest specimens of sculpture, dug up from the mounds of earth at Taxila.
Specimens of Ashoka’s pillars were also there. I had never before realized the greatness of his the saintly king- the father of the people, in fact- but when I had a look at the pillars, I felt how great and glorious he was.
a picture of the Rajput glory and chivalry seemed to float before my eyes when I had a look at shields, daggers, swords, weapons, ornaments, and arm ours that were worn the Rajput warriors and women.
I could catch a beautiful glimpse of our ancient heritage and civilization from the various articles that had been dug out of the mounds at Harappa and Mohen-jo- Daro. There was a beautiful embroidered coat of cotton cloth which showed that our ancestors, about 6000 years ago, knew the art of making cloth.
to mention only a few things, I also saw the beautiful pottery of Gwalior., the lovely papier Mache work of Kashmir, the graceful brass vases of Jaipur, inlaid with black and red enamel, the delicate ivory work of Delhi, and the beautiful brass-work of Varanasi, besides a beautiful model of an aeroplane and of an anti-aircraft gun made by a student of the national polytechnic institute, Mumbai.
The museum provides instruction with amusement. Here one gets valuable information without being bored. Here one reads ``without fears’’.
A DAY OUT WITH MY FRIEND
There are days in life that pass by and quickly forgotten because there has been nothing different from the daily routine, and sometimes there are days which stand out like a red letter down the memory lane because they are different from the humdrum of every day life.
One such day was 14th of November when my friend had come from abroad. I was living in Delhi those days and we went sight seeing to a few places there.
The day, fixed for travelling around Delhi, dawned bright and beautiful. It was Saturday and I had taken off from my office. The sun was shining brightly, there was not a shine of clouds in the sky and the chill of winter was off-set by the warmth of the sunshine. We started out on my bike at 10 O’ clock in the morning. The two of us were very excited because we had planned to be out all day and particularly my friend was very enthusiastic about seeing Delhi as it was for the first time she was there.
We first went to Purana Quila. It was a massive structure of huge rock slabs built by the Mughals. We could imagine the immense labour it must have taken to build the fort especially at a time when the only mode of transport was the bullock-cart. We entered the fort to find a huge dark, narrow, winding staircase leading up to the various rooms of the emperor, his queens and various other members of the household. It was very awful inside and our voices echoed and re-echoed in the empty space. We climbed right on the top of the fort and we felt dizzy looking down from there.
We came out of the cold and dreary musty smelling atmosphere of the fort and breathed the fresh pure air. Nearby was Humayun’s tomb. We came to know from a guide that Humayun’s dear son had fallen ill and Humayun prayed to Allah to take away his life but save his son. After that he fell ill and wasted away whereas his son became better and better, till finally Humayun died, and his son survived.
After this we went to the boat club at India Gate and hired a boat. The weather was lovely and the two of us were together after a long time. There was a mild breeze blowing and the water was calm with faint ripples as the wind touched the surface. There were people sitting on the grass while we took turns to row the boat. The water was clean and transparent, and I could clearly see our faces in the water. My friend was smiling and seemed very happy. I could also see weeds and sometimes golden fishes swimming around the weeds. The lady sang songs while I joked and laughed and we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. Then we went off to the children’s park nearby. We both sat on the grass and saw children playing all around till we felt hungry and decided to have our lunch. I had packed a picnic lunch from a restaurant near my place, all snacks and light food. My friend spread out the lunch for both of us. Both of us were really hungry and it was real fun having food out in the open. Little birds and sparrows hopped near by and my friend threw tiny bits of food to them which they would pick.
After resting for a while, I took her to the National Museum nearby. We saw a lot of antique statues hundreds of years old and appreciated the craftmanship of the artisans who worked centuries ago without any of the sophisticated instruments which we now have. We also saw a huge aquarium with all kinds of colourful fishes swimming in and out amongst the weeds and pebbles that had been arranged beautifully inside the huge glass cases. We had a lovely time looking around and the lady had a lot of questions to ask the guide. We finally moved out feeling enlightened but quite tired.
From there we went to the State Emporia Buildings to see the arts and the crafts of the different states of India. My friend bought incense sticks from the Tamilnadu emporium and honey for her mother from the Kashmir emporium while I bought her a Tussar dress material from the Madhya Pradesh emporium. The lady was very happy with her gift. We admired the handicrafts of the various other states and by the time we had a good look through all of them, we were quite exhausted. We took cold drinks at a near by fast food stall and felt quite refreshed.
The next item on our itinerary was chaat at the Bengali market. So we had a spicy treat and my friend really enjoyed it since she had never had it before. Almost all girls are very fond of such food - chaat, pani-puri etc. This girl too was no different. After finishing the chaat, we went to have South Indian food at a South Indian restaurant, and once again savoured the delicious food served there.
Finally, we made a move to go home. We had spent a lovely day sight-seeing. Together we had seen a lot, learnt a lot, enjoyed a lot and were now happy to go home and relax and talk about everything that we had seen. That evening, we did not take dinner any more as our stomachs were totally full. At about 10 O’ clock we again took a stroll out to have ice-cream. It is very common among Delhiites to walk out of their homes after dinner to enjoy ice-cream. After finishing our ice-cream we walked our way home. That night, we talked to each other for a long time, before going to bed at almost half past 3. Afterall, we had seen each other after five long years. The next morning it was exactly 10 O’ clock when we woke up. It was Sunday and we had no important work, we were very happy to have spent such a wonderful day together. It had indeed been a memorable day which will long remain in our memory.
--------O--------
IT RAINED HEAVILY THAT SUNDAY
Rain rain go away,
Come again another day,
Little Johnny wants to play.
It rained heavily that Sunday. The words of this rhyme echoed in my mind as I waited for the rain to stop. It had started raining early in the morning and then it diminished to a mild dizzle. My friend and I had thought of going out. I was brave enough to go to her place inspite of the bad weather.
Luckily, the rain soon stopped, the sun peeped through the clouds and the water drops glistened in the mild sunshine. Both of us were full of joy and started out.
We reached the main road and waited for an auto to come. Suddenly the sun hid behind a cloud and we glanced with dismay at each other. Just then an auto stopped in front of us and we quickly got inside without much ado. There was no giving a second thought. Once more it began to pour and we were clueless, what to do in case it does not stop. As the auto was open on both sides, showers of water flew in and started to drench us. The rain God is such a spoil sport, I said to myself. The roof of the auto above my head began to drip and I had to adjust myself in a way so I could escape it. The water was flying in from both the sides and we had no way to escape. Especially, I was worried for the girl as I could see her feeling a lot uncomfortable. I felt it was a blunder going out on such a rainy day. Just then the auto driver pulled over and another passenger joined us. She was a lady, bit too fat and her saree totally drenched. My friend was getting sandwitched between both of us while I had nothing to do to bail her out. It was such an uncomfortable situation as all three of us had no place to move. We somehow endured the discomfort till the auto stopped at the exhibition ground. Fortunately, the rain had stopped and we jumped out to get our tickets.
Because of the bad weather there was a short queue at the ticket window and we patiently stood at the end of it. All round the place, there were little muddy patches filled with water. I bought tickets for both of us and then we entered the gate. Just the very next moment, it began to rain once again. I wished I had remembered to bring umbrellas for both of us. We ran towards the very first stall we saw and entered hurriedly without even trying to read the banner to see what was inside. It turned out to be an exhibition of some kind of machinery – something we both were least interested in. However, we had to remain inside to escape the rain. My friend said, if atleast we had got into one of the state emporia, we would have had something to look around, and perhaps, buy. We had to wait for almost an hour untill the rain fizzled out. We walked with the polythene bags which we got from the sales person, which we tore to hold over our heads.
The lady was feeling cold and damp and wanted to have a cup of coffee before going any further. To her bad luck, coffee was no where to be found. We reached a nearby tea stall and she had a steaming cup of tea. She felt quite refreshed as I kept watching her as tea and coffee do not agree with me. Once again the rain began to fall heavily and we had to remain inside the tea stall. We sat on the stools and kept looking at the rain which had now started falling in sheets. As soon as it slowed down, we once again quickly moved towards the Himachal Pradesh emporium. We looked at everything there was to see and my friend bought a couple of scarves. We made our way out apprehensively lest it was still raining. Our fears turned out to be true for it was indeed raining very heavily. Anyway, we made our way through the rain and entered the Orissa emporium. We saw the arts and crafts of our state, the silks and cottons galore and felt that our visit was not completely a waste. As we belong to Orissa, everything inside the stall looked so pleasantly familiar that we did not want to come out. When at last we came out, once more we found it to be raining. Now, I was feeling cold because my clothes were wet and my friend had a running nose. Though I seldom take tea, it was I who wanted to have a cup this time. My friend was happy to have her second cup. So once again, we made our way through the drizzle to the tea stall and had a slice of cake and tea. I looked at my watch and found that it was 4 O’ clock. While taking my friend out, I had promised her mom that we would be back by that time. We quickly decided to return home, a bit disappointed that we had hardly seen anything of the exhibition.
We swiftly walked through the muddy patches filled with more water this time, to reach the road. Fortunately, we found an auto without any wait. Even though there were already two people inside it, we decided to take it.
We got down at our place feeling quite dejected, tired and a bit sad that the rain kept us from enjoying our day. After all, both of us had a chance to go out together after a long time. The rain had spoilt a day that we both had been looking forward to for a long time. We decided to go out again the next Sunday.
--------O--------
Hi friends,
I just visited a wonderful Christian wedding yesterday of my schooltime friend and asked my friend's mother and father that how they organized everything so that I would able to share my trips with all you people over here. So here is what I gathered from them in my own words.
Enjoy this beautiful and intense moment: given free rein to your imagination and try to realize your dreams without giving up as much as possible to enjoy yourself. Our advice to plan the wedding and the wedding feast will be useful.
6-12 months prior to Define the type of party, date and place. Make a schedule of holding the festival (the civil status office, church, refreshments, lunch). Book the church. Contact the ufficiante for marriage in church. Book rooms for refreshments and celebration. Select the destination for honeymoon. Book holidays to work and booked the trip.
6-3 months prior to get in touch with the office of civil status. Order documents for the civil ceremony. Choose the witnesses. Draw up a list of the guests. Reviewed the bids for the restaurant / catering, transportation of guests, the florist and musicians to make your choice. Possibly subscribe to a dance course. Send invitations. Make the wish list and send. Search for wedding rings. Looking for clothes for the bride and the bridegroom. If necessary, make any required vaccinations and visas for their honeymoon.
2 months before the book hotel rooms for guests that come from outside. Contact guests who have not yet responded. Engaged the photographer / service of shooting video (compare different offers). Attach the appointment by the hairdresser. Arrange so that someone will take care of your pets while you're on honeymoon. Felt the post of your absence.
1 month prior to check and confirm the entire organization on the feast. Studied the allocation of seats at the table. Prepare the decorations, the cards with the names, etc.. Try clothes for the ceremony and have them adjust if necessary. Do rewrite documents / bills of insurance with your new name / marital status. In case of transfer, communicated to the mail change of address.
Try 2 weeks before the wedding rings . Communicated to the restaurant / catering service, the exact number of guests.
1 week before Make a list of all the guests and gifts. Make a final briefing of the people involved / the music chosen for the church and the feast. Organized withdrawal of the items hired. Make your luggage / prepared the money, tickets and visas for the honeymoon.
The day before Prepare a bag for the bride. Make jewelry, makeup and accessories. Try to relax and remain calm (which may use the Bach flower or homeopathic tablets to calm the nerves). Get a small gift to each other.
Page 6 of 6